Link Centre Dictionary

Neptune

nep·tune

UK/ˈnɛptjuːn/ US/ˈnɛptʃuːn/ fairly common

noun

2.

a giant planet with a ring of ice particles; the 8th planet from the sun is the most remote of the gas giants

  • “the existence of Neptune was predicted from perturbations in the orbit of Uranus and it was then identified in 1846”

Origin

From Middle English Neptune, Neptunus, a borrowing from Latin Neptūnus, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰ-tu-s (“damp, cloudy”) (source of Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos), Sanskrit नभस् (nábhas), etc.), with the sense of "wet, moist." Puhvel, however, connects it with Proto-Italic *nepōts from Proto-Indo-European *népōts by analogy to Portūnus, cognate with Vedic Apām Napāt and Avestan Apąm Napāt, Child (cf: neve, nephew) of the Water as part of an Indo-European 'Fire in the Water' myth.

Phrases

  • cold Neptune
  • eggs Neptune
  • hot Neptune
  • Neptune Beach
  • Neptune City
  • Neptune grass
  • Neptune powder
  • Neptune's cup

Related words

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.